• Wind and Structures
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.419-440
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• 2006

This article synthesizes the literature on the meteorology, experimental simulation, and wind engineering ramifications of intense downburst outflows. A novel design of a large-scale test facility and experimental evidence of its validity are presented. A two-dimensional slot jet is used to simulate only the outflow region of a downburst. Profiles of mean velocity and turbulence quantities are acquired using hot-wire anemometry. Comparison with the literature provides empirical evidence that supports the current approach. A geometric analysis considers the validity of applying a two-dimensional approximation for downburst wind loading of structures. This analysis is applicable to power transmission lines in particular. The slot jet concept can be implemented in a large boundary layer wind tunnel to enable large-scale laboratory experiments of thunderstorm wind loads on structures.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.315-346
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• 2007

A preceding companion article introduced the slot jet approach for large-scale quasi-steady modelling of a downburst outflow. This article extends the approach to model the time-dependent features of the outflow. A two-dimensional slot jet with an actuated gate produces a gust with a dominant roll vortex. Two designs for the gate mechanism are investigated. Hot-wire anemometry velocity histories and profiles are presented. As well, a three-dimensional, subcloud numerical model is used to approximate the downdraft microphysics, and to compute stationary and translating outflows at high resolution. The evolution of the horizontal and vertical velocity components is examined. Comparison of the present experimental and numerical results with field observations is encouraging.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.129-146
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• 2024

Aiming at the problem of non-stationary wind field simulation of downbursts, a non-stationary down-burst generation system was designed by adding a nozzle and program control valve to the inlet of the original wall jet model. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used to simulate the downburst. Firstly, the two-dimensional (2D) model was used to study the outflow situation, and the database of working conditions was formed. Then the combined superposition of working conditions was carried out to simulate the full-scale measured downburst. The three-dimensional (3D) large eddy simulation (LES) was used for further verification based on this superposition condition. Finally, the wind tunnel test is used to further verify. The results show that after the valve is opened, the wind ve-locity at low altitude increases rapidly, then stays stable, and the wind velocity at each point fluctuates. The velocity of the 2D model matches the wind velocity trend of the measured downburst well. The 3D model matches the measured downburst flow in terms of wind velocity and pulsation characteris-tics. The time-varying mean wind velocity of the wind tunnel test is in better agreement with the meas-ured time-varying mean wind velocity of the downburst. The power spectrum of fluctuating wind ve-locity at different vertical heights for the test condition also agrees well with the von Karman spectrum, and conforms to the "-5/3" law. The vertical profile of the maximum time-varying average wind veloci-ty obtained from the test shows the basic characteristics of the typical wind profile of the downburst. The effectiveness of the downburst generation system is verified.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.77-88
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• 2009

A pulsed impinging jet is used to simulate the gust front of a thunderstorm downburst. This work concentrates on investigating the peak transient loading conditions on a 30 mm cubic model submerged in the simulated downburst flow. The outflow induced pressures are recorded and compared to those from boundary layer and steady wall jet flow. Given that peak winds associated with downburst events are often located in the transient frontal region, the importance of using a non-stationary modelling technique for assessing peak downburst wind loads is highlighted with comparisons.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.147-161
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• 2018

For wind engineering applications downbursts are, presently, almost exclusively modeled, both experimentally and numerically, as transient impinging momentum jets (IJ), even though that model contains none of the physics of real events. As a result, there is no connection between the IJ-simulated downburst wind fields and the conditions of formation of the event. The cooling source (CS) model offers a significant improvement since it incorporates the negative buoyancy forcing and baroclinic vorticity generation that occurs in nature. The present work aims at using large-scale numerical simulation of downburst-producing thunderstorms to develop a simpler model that replicates some of the key physics whilst maintaining the relative simplicity of the IJ model. Using an example of such a simulated event it is found that the non-linear scaling of the velocity field, based on the peak potential temperature (and, hence, density) perturbation forcing immediately beneath the storm cloud, produces results for the radial location of the peak radial outflow wind speeds near the ground, the magnitude of that peak and the time at which the peak occurs that match well (typically within 5%) of those produced from a simple axi-symmetric constant-density dense source simulation. The evolution of the downdraft column within the simulated thunderstorm is significantly more complex than in any axi-symmetric model, with a sequence of downdraft winds that strengthen then weaken within a much longer period (>17 minutes) of consistently downwards winds over almost all heights up to at least 2,500 m.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.179-204
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• 2009

A physical and numerical steady flow impinging jet has been used to simulate the bulk characteristics of a downburst-like wind field. The influence of downdraft tilt and surface roughness on the ensuing wall jet flow has been investigated. It was found that a simulated downdraft impinging the surface at a non-normal angle has the potential for causing larger structural loads than the normal impingement case. It was also found that for the current impinging jet simulations, surface roughness played a minor role in determining the storm maximum wind structure, but this influence increased as the wall jet diverged. However, through comparison with previous research it was found that the influence of surface roughness is Reynolds number dependent and therefore may differ from that reported herein for full-scale downburst cases. Using the current experimental results an empirical model has been developed for laboratory-scale impinging jet velocity structure that includes the influence of both jet tilt and surface roughness.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.385-412
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• 2010

This article provides a time-resolved characterisation of the wind field in a recently-commissioned, downdraft outflow simulator at The University of Western Ontario. A large slot jet approach to physical simulation was used. The simulator performance was assessed against field observations from a 2002 downdraft outflow near Lubbock, Texas. Outflow wind speed records were decomposed according to classical time series analysis. Length scales, characterising the coarse and fine flow structure, were determined from the time-varying mean and residual components, respectively. The simulated downdraft outflow was approximately 1200 times smaller in spatial extent than the 2002 Lubbock event.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.85-102
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• 2020

Accurate load evaluation is essential in any performance-based design. Design wind speeds and associated wind loads are well defined for synoptic boundary layer winds but not for thunderstorms. The method presented in the current study represents a new approach to obtain design wind speeds associated with thunderstorms and their gust fronts using historical data and Monte Carlo simulations. The method consists of the following steps (i) developing a numerical model for thunderstorm downdrafts (i.e. downbursts) to account for storm translation and outflow dissipation, (ii) utilizing the model to characterize previous events and (iii) extrapolating the limited wind speed data to cover life-span of structures. The numerical model relies on a previously generated CFD wind field, which is validated using six documented thunderstorm events. The model suggests that 10 parameters are required to describe the characteristics of an event. The model is then utilized to analyze wind records obtained at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (KLBB) meteorological station to identify the thunderstorm parameters for this location, obtain their probability distributions, and utilized in the Monte Carlo simulation of thunderstorm gust front events for many thousands of years for the purpose of estimating design wind speeds. The analysis suggests a potential underestimation of design wind speeds when neglecting thunderstorm gust fronts, which is common practice in analyzing historical wind records. When compared to the design wind speed for a 700-year MRI in ASCE 7-10 and ASCE 7-16, the estimated wind speeds from the simulation were 10% and 11.5% higher, respectively.